Man killed over gurdwara dispute

A 46-year-old man was beaten to death with an iron rod by a youth on the premises of a gurdwara in Fatehpur Beri in south Delhi, police said on Sunday.

The victim, Harvinder Singh, was unmarried and lived with his 68-year-old mother in a flat on the Govind Sadan Gurdwara premises at Gadaipur. Harvinder was attacked by 25-year-old Maninder Singh alias Kala on Friday, police said.

Harvinder’s mother, Surjeet, a witness, said Maninder repeatedly hit her son with an iron rod. Harvinder was taken to Fortis Hospital at Vasant Kunj, where he was declared brought dead. Surjeet said Harvinder was killed over a dispute involving the gurdwara. “Harvinder was the general secretary of a trust linked with the gurdwara and was involved in a dispute with trust members,” Surjeet told police.

She said five men known to her son—Kawar Pal, Bakshish Singh, Vikkar Singh, Harvansh Singh and Manjeet Singh—were behind the incident. Maninder knew Harvinder and they used to meet regularly.

“We are investigating the matter and the allegations made by Surjeet. Maninder was arrested,” said a police official. “We will question him to ascertain the sequence of events.”

Surjeet told police that Maninder visited their house last Wednesday, and was seen roaming around before the incident took place on Friday. She had come out of her room after hearing Harvinder’s screams. “Maninder pushed Surjeet and locked himself inside a washroom in the house,” he added.

Surjeet and some gurdwara workers rushed an unconscious Harvinder to hospital and informed police.